1. Technical Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to housings for electronics, and more specifically to a housing formed from a carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
2. Background
Many electronic devices, including portable devices, have housings made of plastic. Plastic enclosures tend to be relative inexpensive and simple to manufacture but may be brittle and crack under relatively low stress. Other electronic devices have metal housings. Metal casings are durable but may be heavier and/or more expensive to manufacture than an equivalently-sized plastic casing.
Some electronic devices use a reinforced plastic housing. For example, certain devices may have a housing formed from carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). A standard CFRP may be made of multiple layers, each of which typically has carbon fibers aligned in a plastic matrix such that the fibers all extend in substantially the same direction within that layer. The carbon fibers impart structural strength and resistance to bending and breaking against force applied transversely to the length of the fibers. CFRP materials generally have a high strength to weight ratio and weight to stiffness ratio. However, CFRP may crack or break if bent or rolled such that the carbon fibers bend along their lengthwise axis. More commonly, the fibers in each layer of CFRP generally resist conforming to abrupt angles (such as those formed at a corner having right angles) assuming and/or maintaining shapes with compound curves, and bridging It is more accurate to say the fibers will resist conforming to sharp corners and shapes with compound curves, producing bridging between adjacent layers, voids, and other cosmetic and structural defects. Thus, CFRP may not be a material of choice for many applications, especially those having fairly sharp corners such as electronics housings.